History Repeats

Chapter Seventeen

  They woke up, the next morning, Maxx's legs now in casts and Josh's shoulder bandaged up. Gerard had made sure that Frank was okay, their hands clasped tightly together. They were all still in pain, and it was cold, freezing in fact, the men shivering. They all huddled together, Frank's head on one of Gerard's shoulders while Maxx's rested on the other. Josh leaned against the thin blond, his hand comfortingly over the other's.
  They could hear footsteps walking around the house upstairs, faint voices having incomprehensible conversations.
  Eventually, the door at the top of the stairs opened, Austin slowly walking down into the cold room and flicking on the light.
  "Hello, boys." He grinned maliciously, waltzing over to the closet. Loud scraping echoed throughout the room as he dragged out a long cage with a cushioned top.

  Positioning it in the middle of the room, he went back into the closet, pulling out a box-like cage and putting it next to the long one.

  After going into the closet for the third time, a second cage, similar to the previous one, was placed on the other side of the table. Finally, he came back out of the closet for the last time in that moment, closing the door behind him, holding ropes.
A smirk glued to his lips, he walked towards the men.
  "You boys ready?"

     ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~      
  Dan sat next to Cody on the black, leather couch, an arm lazily wrapped around the shorter man's waist as he rested his head on the younger man's shoulder. Stranger Things playing on the TV in front of them, they waited for the cookies they'd made earlier to finish baking in the oven. As the house was filled with the pleasant smell of the chocolate chip wonders, Cody's stomach growled loudly, and they both laughed silently.
  "Hungry much?" Dan asked jokingly, his thumb rubbing the older's exposed hipbone.
  "A little." He replied, cuddling a bit closer to him. "Don't wanna get up though."
  Dan sighed over-dramatically.
  "Do I have to carry you? Again..."
  Cody nodded, shifting to sit in Dan's lap. Dan paused their show, lifting him bridal style before carrying him into the kitchen and setting him on the table.
  "There. Now, what do you want to eat?"
  "We have any ice cream?"
  Dan opened the freezer spotting two pints of the frozen treats.
  "Cookie dough or chocolate?"
  "Cookie dough!"
  Dan took out the container, scooping a few spoonfuls into a bowl. He poured a little chocolate syrup and sprayed whipped cream over it before topping it with a cherry.
  He gave the bowl to Cody before putting the food away and carrying the older man back into the living room. Unpausing the show, they went back to snuggling.
  After he'd finished the ice cream, Cody set the empty bowl on the coffee table in front of them, and after a few minutes of watching Stranger Things, he started to become lost in his thoughts, fidgeting nervously.
  "Code? You okay?"
  "Hm? Uh, yeah..."
  "Hey, you know you can talk to me."
  "I know. It's not that though. Just..."
  "What?"
  He thought to himself for a second before deciding on his next action. A sudden wave of courage hitting him, he sat up, pushed Dan onto his back and connected their lips. Dan's eyes widened, his hands immediately going to Cody's chest pushing him away.
  "Cody, stop."
  He looked a little hurt, but pinned Dan's arms down, shoving their lips together again.
  "Cody, stop!" Dan shoved the smaller man off of him and sat up.
  "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
  Tears formed in Cody's eyes before he stood up and ran upstairs to Dan's bedroom, curling up under the covers.